<p>Does it often seem that some professors intentionally lead students to topics that aren’t on the test? (as in, choose topics that aren’t on the test more often than would be determined by pure chance)</p>
<p>I mean, it’s totally understandable why. Many of them have to do it because externally motivated students keep asking the question and it gets annoying to the professors. </p>
<p>But it really depends on professor to professor. Sometimes professors <em>will</em> tell you a few topics that will DEFINITELY be on the test and a few that DEFINITELY won’t be on it.</p>
<p>Usually you get used to the professor’s tests and what type of questions they’ll ask. Like my biology teacher would always have a couple of charts that we would have to memorize, and they would be from the most random pictures in the book, so I’d always studied every chart in the chapter like crazy. Most professors will have some kind of method that they stick to for each test so there’s not many surprises.</p>
<p>Things have always been fairly predictable in the classes I’ve been taking, but I’ve been taking only math and science classes, maybe less quantitative subjects are prone to test topic volatility.</p>
<p>^^Not if there’s one midterm and one final, and the two tests are very different styles.</p>
<p>I had a midterm on friday where the professor said it would be basically out of the homework and instead he threw in a couple proofs from the lecture. I think they should give general parameters for what could be on the test.</p>